The U.S. Hemp Industry grows to $820mm in sales in 2017

The total sales for the U.S. Hemp Industry in 2017 were $820mm. $190mm were for Hemp-Derived CBD products, $181mm were for personal care products and $137mm were for hemp food products. Food sales were led by the Snack Food category and Industrial Product sales were led by the Automotive category.

The U.S. hemp industry grew 16% in 2017 amidst continued domestic legal and regulatory challenges. The hemp industry was bolstered by explosive growth in the hemp-derived CBD category that grew from a market category that did not exist five years ago to $190mm in sales in 2017. The U.S. hemp industry is poised to reach a $1 billion dollar market in 2018 led by hemp-derived CBD, food, personal care and industrial products.

As legal and regulatory barriers are removed and consumer education spreads, Hemp Business Journal estimates the U.S. hemp industry will grow to a $1.9 billion dollar market by 2022 with an estimated 5-year CAGR of 14.4% (2018-2022).

The data above are the high-level numbers from the State of Hemp 2018 market report. The full report will be published soon. Pre-Order your State of Hemp report today and be the first to receive all the market data, intelligence and strategic business insight in the full report.

U.S. Import

The U.S. remains the largest global importer of hemp products, which includes textiles from China, food and seed from Canada and industrials from Europe.

U.S. imports of hemp seeds have decreased significantly from all time highs in 2016 of 39,285,634 lbs. In 2017 there was a 57% decrease in seed imports from the previous year, and the first half of 2018 puts the import market on pace for a 20% decrease. This downward trend is expected to continue as the U.S. hemp grain market continues to mature.

While total seed imports include viable, non-viable, and de-hulled hemp seeds, over 80% of this figure is comprised of de-hulled hemp seeds or heart hemps with viable whole hemp seeds comprising 15-18% of imports and non-viable whole seeds representing a marginal amount. Most de-hulled hemp seeds and hemp hearts come from Canada and enter the U.S. through Pembina, North Dakota. The hemp industry’s largest conglomerate, Manitoba Harvest and Hemp Oil Canada, are headquartered just across the border in Winnipeg, and account for a significant majority of all non-viable seed imports.

The viable seed that entered the U.S. in 2017 and in 2018 is almost exclusively from Europe and Canada.